India before the British - The Mughal Empire and its Rivals, 1526-1857 (HIH1407)

Staff

Dr Nandini Chatterjee - Convenor

Credit Value

15

ECTS Value

7.5

NQF Level

4

Pre-requisites

n/a

Co-requisites

n/a

Duration of Module

Term 1: 11 weeks;

Module aims

Various types of textual and visual evidence, in several languages (translated to English as required) will be used in order to evaluate the nature of the Mughal state and polity, early modern South Asian economy and society, and the reasons for transition to British rule in the 18th century.

ILO: Module-specific skills

1. Assess the nature of the Mughal state and Indian society under Mughal rule.

2. Explain to the waxing and waning of Mughal imperial power and its eventual substitution by British rule.

3. Appreciate and engage with relevant historiographical debates based on the analysis of sources from Mughal India.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

4. Critically assess, evaluate and utilise a range of documentary and visual sources produced in a pre-modern non-European context and from a variety of standpoints.

5. Answer a question briefly and concisely, making appropriate use of historical evidence.

6. Present work orally, respond to questions orally, and think quickly of questions to ask other students.

ILO: Personal and key skills

9. Digest, select and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment.

10. Work with others in a team and to interact effectively with the tutor and the wider group.

Syllabus plan

This module will examine a variety of textual and visual sources in order to assess their validity and varying uses for the study state-formation and decline, politics, social structures, and cultural patterns in early modern South Asia under Mughal rule. The following is a tentative list of themes to be discussed within the module:

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category

Hours of study time

Description

Scheduled learning and teaching activities

2

2 hour lecture: Introduction to module

Scheduled learning and teaching activities

20

10 x 2 Seminars. At a meeting of the whole class generally a different group of 3-4 students will give a presentation to the whole class, followed by class discussion and working through the sources for that week carefully. Additional sources may be issued in the class and the lecturer will also use the time to set up issues for the following week.

Guided independent study

128

Students prepare for the session through reading and research; writing five source commentaries and an essay and preparing one group presentation in the course of the term.